Truth Serum
by A. E. Stover
Summary: When Hunk accidentally drinks a truth serum, Pidge is right there to take advantage of it.


The two of them are running as fast as they can. There is a herd of angry beasts behind them. Their get-away ride is speeding past them on rusting rails to their right. Shiro's arm is stretched as far as he is physically able. His face is twisted with cold fear as the gap between them widens. It feels like a hopeless situation.

Hunk grabs her arm tight. "You'll thank me later," is all he says before he grabs her right off the ground.

Panic sets in her voice. "Wait, what are you—"

She is thrown into the air. She flies into Shiro and knocks him on his back into the speeding vehicle. The vehicle shoots into air, still screeching along the rails. She scrambles to her feet and gets to the back of the vehicle.

She watches the herd close in. Hunk disappears under a flurry of leaping beasts and a flash of blue light. She screams her throat raw. "No!"

Shiro pulls her back. She thrashes against him.

"There's nothing we can do right now." His voice shakes as he's speaking. "We'll come back for him. We will."

She fights him all the way back.

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Lance and Keith recover faster than Hunk does. Coran doesn't leave the med bay. Shiro is the first one to join him. Allura stays in the control room, speeding the Castle through galaxies to get to the one called "Borrea." There's medicine that can help them, she says. Until then, she and Coran sees that the tanks supply enough Giriah to hasten the team's recovery.

Keith is the first one ejected from the tank. Lance is dumped out seconds later. Shiro catches Keith in time. Lance almost topples Pidge over. Coran stares at the tank Hunk is in with a furrowed brow.

"I believe it's time for the Princess to initiate a warp drive."

Pidge doesn't like the worrying tone woven in between his words.

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"This one will recover," the Borrean assures, handing Pidge a vial of red liquid. It holds out a larger vial of purple. "This one will maintain. Take heed of the dosage."

Pidge takes both in her arms and Shiro pays for the elixirs. She keeps them cushioned against her small chest until they step into the Castle. Only to Coran does she relinquish them.

Lance picks her up and squeezes her in a hug. Keith manages a small smile in her direction that dies quickly when it isn't reciprocated. Shiro passes a hand through her hair and says, "He'll be okay."

Allura sits by her side when she stays in the med bay, when exhaustion finally takes a toll on Coran and forces him to sleep. She leans into her, a warm, familiar presence, as the two of them sit in front of the only occupied tank in silence.

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Eleven long days later, the tank opens with a sharp hiss. Coran catches him while Pidge and Lance fuss and flail around him.

Hunk blearily blinks his eyes and gives a slow, lopsided smile. His voice is hoarse from disuse. "Oh. Hey, guys."

Lance throws his arms around Hunk's neck with a blubbering wail of _"Don't ever almost-die on us again!"_ Coran voices his agreement in a firm tone, though his eyes are watery. Keith and Shiro, who have just come in, are looking relieved and overjoyed. Allura wipes at her eyes.

Pidge can't stop crying.

Hunk stays bed-ridden for a few more days. They take turns looking after him, even if he insists it's not at all necessary.

They all have their ways of taking care of him. Lance spoon-feeds Hunk soup and tells him wild stories about the Borreans. Keith awkwardly sits at his bedside with his arms crossed and watches Hunk eat. Coran and Hunk crack one too many jokes that fill the room with loud, thundering laughter. Allura updates him about the status of the team's training and his eventual catching-up sessions. Shiro shares stories from the Garrison, the two of them laughing quietly over stupid antics they've seen or heard (or even been the root of) as students.

Pidge lets Hunk talk, asking him questions about his last excursion to the Balmera because talking about Shay always brings a smile to his face. She watches his smiles reflect a myriad of emotions: silly joy, tenderness, excitement.

It's in the middle of a story about how he and Lance tried to teach Shay how to whip that the conversation suddenly shifts.

"I'm glad you're okay," says Hunk.

There's an air of intensity about the way he looks at her as he says that, that makes her heart skip a beat. She feels her face grow warm. She looks away.

"Well," she mutters, crossing her arms. "Don't do that next time." She gives him a half-hearted punch, her tight fist landing solidly on his shoulder. "There're a million other ways we could've done that differently."

She feels his hand around her wrist. She doesn't look his way.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she hears him say. "You're important."

Pidge pins him with an incredulous look. "And you aren't?! Well, you are! You're important!" With that, she jumps to her feet and stomps out of his room, muttering "you're so stupid" in ten different ways she can think of.

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The purple vial has been moved. Pidge is rooting through the cabinet in the med bay when she realizes it is no longer next to the jar of Giriah. She narrows her eyes. "Lance," she mutters, because this is not the first time.

She's nearly emptied out the entire cabinet when she hears someone ask,

"What're you doing?"

Startled, she bangs her head against a cabinet door. She mutters a curse and looks over her shoulder.

Keith looks back with an expression of utter bafflement.

Pidge scowls. "I'm looking for the last dose of Qasim. Lance misplaced it, and now I can't find it."

"Oh."

Pidge shoves a case of Ribwar aside and finally finds the Qasim. The purple vial is tucked away in the left corner of the middle shelf. She grabs it and hops off the counter. She claps a hand on Keith's shoulder and flashes him a grin. He looks down at her suspiciously. "We're a team, right?" She jerks a thumbs over her shoulder. "Can ya give me a hand?"

Keith shoots her an unimpressed look. Then he eyes the purple vial in her hand. He narrows his eyes. Finally, he huffs a sigh through his nose, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Fine."

Pidge flicks his bangs with a finger and cackles at the scowl on his face. "Thanks!" she chirps as she races out of the med bay.

"Whatever," she hears Keith reply half-heartedly, his voice a distant whisper as she races down the corridor to get to the other side of the ship.

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There is something wrong with Hunk.

Shortly after he takes the Qasim, his eyelids start drooping. His breathing deepens and he takes on the look of someone in a trance.

Before she lets panic settle in her bones, she takes a look at the vial. She peels off the blank label. There are Altean symbols etched on the glass. TRUTH SERUM.

She stares long and hard at the vial, debating whether or not to call Coran and tell him there's been a terrible, terrible mistake.

But there's a question that's been burning inside her since they've gotten Hunk back from the almost-dead. One that she really, really wants to know the answer to. If the contents of the vial really is what it says it is.

Pidge draws in a sharp breath. She faces Hunk. And asks the question.

"Did Lance eat the Cliff bar I was saving?"

One… Two… Three beats of silence. Then, Hunk replies.

"Yes."

"I knew it!" Pidge screeches, slapping a hand against the sheets on Hunk's bed and kicking her feet out. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna—" She stops herself, feeling her brain screech to an abrupt stop. Slowly, she turns to look at Hunk. She narrows her eyes. "What's Lance's greatest fear?"

"…Never seeing his family again."

She frowns. That isn't something she was prepared to hear. She's looking for blackmail material, not to be hit in the feels with relatable experiences she isn't emotionally prepared for.

Quickly, she changes the topic.

"Did he lie when he said he liked Rover 2.0?"

"…Yes."

"Is he paranoid about Rover 2.0 secretly being a Galra mole?"

"…Yes."

"Is he afraid of robots?"

"…Yes."

Pidge gives a thoughtful hum and strokes her chin. "Would you say he'd piss his pants if I sent a drone into his room at night? And made it look like it was scanning him or something? Oh, wait. He'd probably shoot it, right?"

"…Yes. …Yes. …Yes."

Pidge snaps her fingers. "Dammit."

The serum lasts quite some time. She's lying down on her back across Hunk's bed by the time she's gotten most of Lance's childhood fears tucked nicely into her brain. Boredom sets in fast, and before she knows it, she's asking juvenile questions as if this was a game of Truth or Dare.

"Have you ever confessed to anyone?"

"…Yes."

Pidge shoots up to sit on the bed, staring at Hunk in surprise. "What, really? So, you and Shay are a thing, now? Is that why you take off to the Balmera so much?"

"…No."

Pidge faltered. "…No?"

"…No."

Pidge purses her lips. There's an odd feeling of guilt swirling in her gut as she probs deeper. "Does Shay… not like you back?"

"…Friends."

Pidge furrows her brow. "What? Friends?"

"…Friends."

"What does that— But you confessed to her? She said 'No, let's be friends'?"

"…No. We're friends."

Pidge stares at him. "Do you like Shay?"

"…Yes."

"But as _friends._ Right?"

"…Yes."

Pidge bites the inside of her cheek. There's really one other question to ask as a follow-up to an answer like that. She knew that. But half of her doesn't want to ask it. At least, not like this. This is… This is an invasion of privacy. This is an interrogation, at the expense of the participant. Hunk has no idea what's going on, and probably wouldn't once the serum wore off.

Right?

…Shit.

"Will you remember this conversation once the serum wears off?"

"…I don't know."

She decides to just go for it. Screw the consequences, she could handle it. She handled getting blasted by Haggar, watching a planet crumble by Zarkon's ships, and her friends torn apart by vicious herds of strange, foreign alien species. She could handle anything.

She takes in another breath before asking: "Do you… Do you have someone you like?"

There's a slight furrow in Hunk's brow and a longer period of silence before he answers. "…Someone important."

It feels like her heart stops in her chest.

"Someone important?" she echoes.

"…Yes."

Pidge leans forward. Her heart is thundering against her ribcage as she asks: "Who is it?"

Hunk's brow furrows deeper. "…Someone important," is the repeated answer.

"Who?" Pidge all but explodes from her impatience.

"…Someone… Someone important…" Hunk's brow creases deeply and he picks his head up. He's looking straight ahead, right at Pidge now. Pidge's breath catches in her throat. Hunk's brow unfolds, and a wide-eyed look suddenly take over him.

Pidge watches Hunk's entire face turn a bright red.

"Uhhhh," is his response, mouth hanging open. It snaps shut. "What are we— What are we talking about?" he laughs nervously, leaning back all the way against his pillows.

Before she can speak, Hunk's door slides open with a hiss and Keith bursts in.

"Wait!" he shouts, panting heavily and thrusting a purple vial in front of Pidge's face. " _This_ is Qasim! That other thing— Don't give him that other thing, Allura said it's—" Keith's eyes catch the empty purple vial next to Hunk's bed. His whole face freezes. He looks from the empty vial to Hunk's face. He stares at the empty vial again. Then at Hunk's face.

Slowly, Keith stands up straight.

"Was Lance the one who threw my jacket into space?"

Hunk turns into a stuttering mess. "What?! Uh, n-nooo, that was _not_ him. He wouldn't— He would never. He— He cares a lot about your jacket. A lot. Very much. Totally."

Keith glares at a spot on the floor. "I'm gonna kill him," he scowls.

"No!" Hunk wails, hands running frantically through his hair. "It— It wasn't— Oh my god."

Pidge uses Hunk's horrible poker face and Keith's slowly building anger to her advantage, and slips out of the room without attracting attention.

Which is good, because her face is a burning shade of red.

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Shiro stacks the last of the vials into their proper place and places the rack into the cabinet. He turns a curious look in Allura's direction, who was sweeping the floor. "Why did you have truth serum in the back of the cabinet?"

Allura stops sweeping long enough to give Shiro a look. "We're in the middle of a war, Shiro. What ever do you think I have it for?"

Shiro nods thoughtfully. "Makes sense," he says.

Allura rolls her eyes.

She pours the rest of her collection of truth serum into Keith's drink and asks Lance to deliver it to him.

She'll be darned if any of them die before they realize their own feelings for each other.


End file.
